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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27252469">and i hold you here in my heart, as things fall apart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkvalentines/pseuds/pinkvalentines'>pinkvalentines</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Warrior Nun (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Twitter, Medical Procedures, Temporary Character Death, adriel is an asshole, descriptions of injuries, in which i use my anatomy knowledge, lilith girl im sorry u have to almost die, lilith mary and bea friend trio, mary girl im also sorry because of this, mary loves lilith too much cmon its facts, no happy ending in terms of beating adriel srry, okay well maybe not too graphic in terms of violence but better be safe than sorry, would it be considered temp. death? idk, yeah - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:28:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27252469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkvalentines/pseuds/pinkvalentines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Once Adriel finds out about Lilith's abilities, he's curious and decides to take matters into his own hands, testing how much the Tarask can handle. </p>
<p>Lilith, however, doesn't even know that for herself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sister Lilith/Shotgun Mary (Warrior Nun)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and i hold you here in my heart, as things fall apart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>-prompt directly taken from twitter that reads: 'that trope where character a is dying but smiles and wipes character b’s tears telling them everything is ok? god tier. dagger to my heart. a+ way to kill me.' i hope i did it justice ha ha.<br/>-no death, no ma'am. i can't do that to myself.<br/>-lilshotgun deserves the world.<br/>-song title from 'the last to die' by pet shop boys</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The incident happened a few weeks after they surprisingly tracked down Adriel with the help of Ava‘s Halo and Lilith’s Tarask abilities, the connection between their otherworldly abilities aided them in finding this </span>
  <em>
    <span>devil</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Because that’s truly what he was, not a sad, sacred fallen angel like the texts claimed. Somehow opposing the religious beliefs that the church had thought of him as. They were lucky, because without the help of their powers (which still baffled even Ava and Lilith, because of the logistics and accuracy) they still wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint his location, maybe not exact but he was in the mountains somewhere. And so they went to the damn mountains. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure we’re headed the right way?” Beatrice questions both Ava and Lilith, gaining an exhausted “yes” from Ava, riled up, and aggravated at the whole ordeal. Even if they couldn’t exactly find where the damn being was, Adriel could sense the Halo’s powers, a bit of it stuck with him throughout all those centuries, drawing him closer to them, feeling the energy. And somehow Lilith could sense him too, because he wasn’t exactly an angel, more like an inter-dimensional man, tied down to Earth, with demons following him, besides the point, Lilith could sort of sense the being. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They hike up the mountains, finding a newly forming path along their feet, due to hikers. The sun shining down on the five, the feeling of exhaustion creep up onto their bodies, but they still push through, needing to find where the fuck Adriel decided to lay low. They were defenseless as of now, no sign of him anywhere, but it’s not to say that they weren’t prepared. (“We’re strapped!” Ava exclaimed before they even went on the trip and Mary silently laughed, drawing confusion from the four women, they wouldn’t get it.) </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the time passed by them, it was clear that if they didn’t find Adriel within the next hour, the mission was essentially going to be called off, still, Ava persisted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sure of this, please trust me.” Ava explains to the team, the small rush of adrenaline fading away because there’s still no success. The four women stand under a large tree, for shade, and Ava stands a few feet away, looking into the distant mountains and hills. Was she wrong about this whole mission in the first place? It was already hard when it went down in the Vatican and the whole ordeal between them and Adriel. Ava felt like she let them down, not letting them know, continuing to ‘feel’ for Adriel. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We trust you, Ava, like any Sister Warrior would.” Camila replies, knowing that their luck just hasn’t been met, but still hoping for the best. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. I’m sure we’ll find him soon enough, you were on track with the mission so it shouldn’t be long before Adriel reveals himself.” Ava nods at Beatrice’s words, agreeing that while now there’s no Adriel at the moment, the group was on track with their sole goal, so to speak. Ava approaches the others, sighing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But Lilith,” a pause, “do you think we’re close to finding Adriel?” Ava hesitates a bit, noticeable that she’s worried. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m certain we’re getting closer, yes.” Lilith states, calming Ava‘s nerves just a bit. Ava nods, not saying more about the topic, he’ll reveal himself when he does, they just have to play a stupid game of hide and seek. “We just have to keep pushing.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ava attempts to move on from the current topic onto a more comfortable one, “God Mary, this is just like when we did this exact same thing a few days ago but now we’re doing this as a team!” Mary laughs, and Ava smiles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>About half an hour later, they continued their trek through the mountains, which luckily for them, were not too high up in elevation to cause much discomfort. Ava and Lilith lead the way, followed by Mary, Camila, and Beatrice, each person carrying at least three more weapons than usual because who knew how this fight would start and end, and who knew what would actually happen? Nothing like this has ever happened for the OCS, to contradict the written accounts of Adriel would be blasphemy, and they’d be seen as rivals for the Church but damn them if they’d continue to let this monster destroy the world. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The way they found out that Ava and Lilith could both ‘feel’ Adriel was when Ava went into the tomb and Lilith warned the others about the dangers of him. He had a direct link with hell, he knew the weaknesses of a Tarask, being that he stole something from them, causing this whole mess in the first place. Adriel still had a piece of hell in him, and Lilith did too, so the connection grew stronger when Lilith initially went to the catacombs to look for Ava, noting that newfound ability. Ava found out because while he had a piece of hell in him, he also held small fragments of the Halo within his body, to which that connection between Ava and Adriel started from. It was complicated to talk about and to understand but the team got the gist of it as they went along with their mission. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ava and Lilith suddenly stop in their tracks, making the other three stop as well. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He was here. Finally.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Both look at each other.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” Mary questioned, confused as to why they so abruptly stopped walking. She looks at both women, seeing them exchange confirming glances. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s here.” Lilith states, glancing over at Mary, eyebrows scrunching up, her claws coming out, danger nearby. She knows he is near them, but where? Ava is shocked, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally!</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mary nods, hint of a laugh in her tone, “Well let’s get this fucking devil.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She cocks her gun, not letting off the safety but to reload the barrel. Camila gets a few arrows into the crossbow, checking the surroundings, senses heightened now. Ava grabs the sword's sheath, not drawing out the sword just yet, waiting for the moment to strike when presented with the chance. Lilith holds on tightly to her gun, feeling for Adriel, he’s so close she knows it. Beatrice grasps onto the gun, checking the area. Where is he?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The earth vibrates slowly, each woman drawing their weapon in any direction. They huddle close together, waiting for the fucking demon to appear. Suddenly, Adriel appears from a portal. Immediately, the group point their weapons and shoot him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not a very nice way to greet someone.” Adriel looks down as the gunshots, barely making a dent in his body. He finds it funny because then a Tarask appears too, coming from another portal. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This time, they seem to alternate between the devil in human form and literal demon, few shots for one then the other. They synchronized, almost like a dance routine, if they noticed that one monster wasn’t given enough attention, they made sure of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Strangely, Adriel disappeared, letting the team focus on the Tarask in front of them, silently happy that he left them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The ringing in Lilith’s ears began and was slowly becoming unbearable. She eases herself a distance away from the fight, so that the noise could go away, still focused on the battle in front of her. Unluckily for the woman, Adriel decides to come back and attack Lilith, drawing her away from the scene as her defenses are low - seeing this as his opportunity to strike. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d taken particular interest in Lilith, still confused as to how she made it to the other side because it’s certainly not a normal occurrence; his powers didn’t exactly work on Lilith too. Lilith was dragged away from the scene, weak, and pushed onto the ground. Adriel dragged her away, just out of sight of her team.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what you are. You can’t trick me.” Adriel stated, voice husky. He cornered her, her abilities weakened now. Lilith was getting scared, she didn’t think this would happen. She looks over at her friends, waves of anxiety washing over her, wanting so desperately to help them. Lilith didn’t listen to his words, deciding to get up and run to them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bad decision</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adriel just pushed her down again, hard. Lilith groaned at the action, not bothering on getting up if every time she decides to get up, she’d be put down. Adriel continues, “Running is useless. But I still find it odd and peculiar that you have Tarask abilities.” He paused to laugh cruelly, this was not helping in any way. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I know their weaknesses, so it’s useless to run from me. I can just continue destroying you.” He bends down to her level, forcing Lilith to look at her, hand grabbing her face. Adriel had a pathetic look to his face, almost a worried one. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me go. Leave me alone.” Lilith bit out, shaking her head to get his hands off of her, to which angered him. Her claws, sharper than ever she notes, come out in anger, and Lilith slashes over the exposed skin, Adriel’s face and neck. Frustratingly, he grabbed her hands away from his face, now definitely upset, fingers digging deeply into her wrists. Lilith attempts to remove her wrists from his hands but the fight is useless, she’s tired. Adriel noticed the energy draining from the young woman, he caught her at just the right time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I fought alongside those monsters. I know what their strengths were and what dragged them down, what made them </span>
  <em>
    <span>weak</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Adriel looks over at the scene of her team still fighting the monster, Lilith wants so badly to go over and help them in battle, but the devil had other plans. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith continues moving in his grasp, he’s not letting up. “I hope they’re strong enough for this, such a shame to see your team and being unable to aid them. Though you probably wouldn’t be able to help them.” He clicks his tongue, scrunching his face in fake pity, shaking his head. Then, he let go of her hands. Lilith immediately drew them back to her chest, noticing the pain that shot up from her wrists. Unexpectedly and surprisingly, Adriel telekinetically threw Lilith a few feet away. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Lilith hit the ground, she winced in pain, head pounding, body curling in against her will, she felt the scar burn as it tried to heal as much as it could. It feels like the monster inside her could possibly do nothing in her favor, weakened by Adriel, leaving her hopeless. Lilith prays that someone, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>, would notice her absence. While the adrenaline slowly washes away and the pain worsens, she sees from her point that Adriel disappeared and the horde of demons also disappeared with him. Lilith feels entirely alone, they only came here to get rid of this monster but didn’t expect much else to happen. The worst pain aside from getting thrown, is this: the helplessness, the desperation to want to get up, the weakness, only reminding Lilith of the same emotions she felt during her time on the other side. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tears slowly flow out of her eyes, her breath comes out slower, her heart also slowly beats, the only way she’s alive is because the burn of the scar is keeping her conscious. Lilith folds into a fetal position, the pain numbing down, closing her eyes as she thinks:</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear God help me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they each take down the demon, Beatrice notices the loss of someone because by now, they would be done with this. Ava digs her sword through the Tarask, weakening the being, only needing a few more slashes. Beatrice takes a look around, taking a few steps to look for everyone. Ava, Mary, and Camila. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beatrice scouts out for her, not knowing where she went. Where could’ve she gone to? Maybe, luckily for them, the battle broke out in a flat area on the mountain, Beatrice did a whole 360, examining any areas that Lilith may have gone to. She still didn’t see her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beatrice finally voices her concern, altering the rest, “Where’s Lilith? She’s not here.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?!” Ava speaks out, shocked - pausing for the briefest moment to turn to look at Beatrice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not here.” Beatrice repeats again. She prayed that this wouldn’t happen, she can’t lose another teammate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dear God.” Mary expresses, groaning. She makes sure that Beatrice was right, looking around for Lilith, and can’t find her either.  She shots down the monster, finally getting a chance to see Beatrice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They all stop, only due to the fact of the monster’s disappearance, giving them a sense of respite. They form a group huddle, discussing the possible plan. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did anyone see where Lilith went?” Camila comments, catching her breath. All reply with a no, so they decide on venturing out to search for their missing teammate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Each one walks off in a different direction, giving them an advantage because if not, then they’d have to search through each direction if they didn’t find Lilith. They all call out for Lilith, hoping she’d appear in front of either woman. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Unluckily for Mary, she finds the woman far from where the fight broke out at, dark clothes contrasting the browns of the terrain. Lilith’s state is horrible, blood oozing from the many wounds, hands pressed against her abdomen, and covered in dirt. Mary runs up to her and falls to her knees in front of Lilith, throwing aside her shotgun, touching her shoulders to get her attention, careful of the injury. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lilith? Lilith, can you hear me?” Mary’s voice quivers, </span>
  <em>
    <span>god not again, anything but this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Lilith opens her eyes, acknowledges the other, removing a hand from the scar, to grab onto Mary’s arm weakly.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mary...” Lilith weakly says, looking up at Mary. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes it’s me.” Mary looks at her, smiling, not taking her eyes off the other. “I found Lilith!” Mary turns her for a slight moment and shouts, hoping that they heard her. Immediately after that, she consoled Lilith, “Hey, we’re okay. We’re okay.” Mary hums. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Lilith coughs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, don't say that. There’s nothing to apologize for. Okay?” Lilith slightly nods. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Adriel attacked me, he threw me to the ground.” Lilith explains. Mary feels angry, unable to believe what went down between the two. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry okay? We’ll take him down and then give him hell, yeah?” Mary continues with a conversation to keep Lilith aware and awake, the last thing she wants is unconsciousness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith replies to Mary, emotion getting the better of her, “You’ll be able to do it, I’m sure of it.” Mary gives her a confused look, and Lilith continues, ”You’ve always been a good person to me, even when we were rivals, you’ve always been nice to me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for the way I acted when Shannon got the Halo and I didn’t. I’m sorry for ruining our bond. You were right about having heart, I know it now, I was too stubborn,” Mary laughs at that, crying now while still holding onto Lilith, “to realize that. Thank you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mary looks back once more  shouting for them to come over, and replies to Lilith. “No, don't thank me, don’t do that. You were misguided, but I understand why. I do. But now you’ve changed. You proved yourself.” Mary chokes up, throat swelling up now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now Lilith musters enough strength to move onto her back and lift both her arms, ignoring the shooting pain, cradling Mary's face in her hands, wiping away the stray tears. Lilith draws her arms down, resting them on her stomach. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to be okay, alright? I promise that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After she says that, both hear rushed footsteps approach them. Ava, Beatrice, and Camila stand a few feet away from them. Lilith looks up to stare at them, which makes Beatrice rush to examine her, near her head. Ava and Camila follow her move, settling next to Lilith, looking at her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened Lilith? We’re so worried for you.” Beatrice expresses with great concern. Ava winces at the sight of Lilith, the normally strong woman now in a vulnerable and defeated state. They’d seen worse, sure, but every time, without a fail, it gets to them, shocking them.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith utters out, “Adriel, he got to me while you were fighting the monsters, he,” Lilith dry coughs, “disappeared too,” while it’s hard to even move, she needs to inform them on what happened between them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then Lilith notices that her vision gets foggier and her heart beats slower than what is considered normal, she is losing consciousness. Before she passes out, a meek “I love you all,” leaves Lilith’s mouth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mary notices how Lilith went limp in her arms, shocked would a word to describe her emotion. “Lilith? Lilith! God,” Mary cries out, starting to move Lilith around. There’s no response. “Fuck,” Mary exhales. Beatrice looks at Lilith’s face, any sign of distress was gone, giving her a neutral expression. Beatrice silently says a prayer for recovery and peace for Lilith, tears pooling in her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ava and Camila lower their heads, for a moment of silence. Mary cries out, moving away stray hairs from Lilith’s face, then rests her hand on her neck. A weak pulse is felt under her fingertips, not dead. With that information in mind, Mary wetly chuckles, drawing the attention from the others. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s funny? She’s gone.” Ava tells Mary, angry for so many reasons. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not gone. Lilith has a low pulse.” Mary replies, then whispers, “thank god.” Beatrice checks for a pulse on her neck, and sure enough, it’s there. Beatrice sighs in relief, lowering her head close to Lilith’s shoulder. No fatalities. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment, they lift her up, Mary and Beatrice carrying Lilith by her shoulders, careful of any injuries that may be hidden underneath her clothes. Ava and Camila walk behind the two, mind blank, devastated over this (they wouldn’t say loss because she didn’t die, at the very least, Lilith was still holding onto life; all they could wish for was health and recovery).</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They walk in silence, aside from the sniffles that each woman makes, heading down the mountain and hills, towards the dirt road where the vehicle was. Getting down the mountain was somehow easier than going up, stumbling through the rough terrain. The sun started setting, which rushed them, needing to leave before the sun went down any more. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they approach the vehicle, they settle into the back seat/trunk, pushing the seats down to lay Lilith flat; Ava by her head, Mary by her middle, Beatrice opposite of Mary, and Camila near Lilith’s legs. Once situated, Beatrice located where the blood came from, then found the first aid kit, taking out the supplies as fast as possible, cutting the clothing surrounding the wound, and pressed firmly with a gauze pad, making sure that no extra fluid flowed out. When she pulled away the gauze pad, no sign of blood appeared, which both relieved them and stressed her because it was good that there is no extra blood loss, it was also worrisome because she didn’t know how much Lilith had lost. As Beatrice decided on what to do next, Ava comforted Mary, rubbing her back, mindlessly drawing patterns along Mary’s back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beatrice coughs, catching their attention, “We have to get back to the Cat’s Cradle as soon as possible, never mind that Adriel escaped, next time…” She trails off, and they knew exactly what she meant. The others knew the fight wouldn’t be easy at all, but they didn’t give up on the small sliver of hope that he’d be defeated by now, there’s always a next time, right? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The three nod, staying for a moment before Camila moves, getting a confused look from Ava, to get out of the back and to the front, sitting in the driver's seat. Camila turns back, giving them a small smile before telling them, “Well, we have to get back somehow. None of you are fit to drive. I’ll- I’ll do it.” Camila looks at the four, concerned about it all. It was her choice, truly, because they can’t stay in the middle of nowhere with their dying friend. So they let Camila take the lead, letting her take charge for the next half hour. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arriving at the Cradle doesn’t prove difficult, and about five minutes away, Beatrice calls and informs Mother Superion about the situation; she simply tells Camila that she’ll have a group ready for Lilith. They rush in as soon as possible, focusing on heading to the medical quarters for Lilith to receive aid. Superion was right, there’s a small group of nurses in the quarters and they let the nurses do their work on Lilith. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once they ran tests on Lilith, the head nurse read off the injuries and symptoms: a dislocated left shoulder, large bruises on multiple joints, dehydration, to her luck, no broken bones, and also commented that the wound was patched up as best as possible (no one wanted to tell the nurses how she got that scar in the first place; somethings are better kept secret). Her vitals showed that Lilith lost about a quarter liter of blood, which - combined with the exhaustion and exertion - had caused her to pass out. A blood transfusion is necessary for her, which will be done within the next hours. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All four thank her, finally allowing themselves to get time to assist with their injuries, except Mary, who was adamant on staying with Lilith until she woke up. None drew up an argument with Mary, leaving her alone with the other. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Please God, please, please let Lilith live. I can’t lose her again. I can’t let it happen.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing anyone hooked up to an IV is unpleasant because normally, the wounds suffered were barely superficial, so they knew that this was serious. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mother Superion walks in, getting a good look at Lilith, lightly touching the younger woman’s face, “How did this happen?” Concern flowing through her tone, another badly wounded warrior. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mary looks up to her, “Adriel, he attacked Lilith.” She leaves out the detail that the reason was because Lilith happened to have demon abilities ingrained into her body, and that the ‘wound’ was actually where the monster had grabbed her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see. I pray that she makes it out alive, I know it would be extremely difficult for you if Lilith didn’t.” Mother Superion nods, noting that she knew about their relationship, and leaves her be. She’ll return later. Mary can only look at her as she leaves the room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mary decides to sleep by Lilith’s side, not letting go of her, literally holding onto the other. A nurse returns before midnight to check up on Lilith, and she advises Mary to, at the very least, clean up a bit or change clothes. The nurse is right, and only because she had commented on it, because if not, Mary decides she’d feel a bit better with a shower and new clean clothes. The ‘armor’ isn’t very comfortable anyways. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Returning from her room, Mary sighed, sitting back on the chair next to the bed. She rests her head on the thin mattress, holding Lilith’s hand. And maybe yeah, Mary could sleep in her own bed because Lilith realistically isn’t going anywhere but she can’t bring herself to do that, no, not until she sees with her own that Lilith wakes up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sleep isn’t bad, the chair providing minimal comfort, the beds were the same anyways. Mary hopes to wake up to Lilith also awake but that doesn’t happen just yet. Again, more nurses come in, checking out Lilith’s signs, advising Mary that the blood transfusion worked and that within a day Lilith could wake up. The team also come at separate times, checking in on their friend. Beatrice provides Mary, because the presence is really needed right now. Ava comes also, providing small jokes for her former, distracting her. It helps.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the day drags on, slow as fucking hell. Mary takes a walk around the grounds, letting this moment be for herself, easing her mind and body (tension is a bitch). The walk proves clearing, it lets Mary focus solely on herself. She returns to medical quarters, deciding to clean her guns as she waits for Lilith to get up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lilith, you’re so stubborn but god, just fucking get up.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The whole day no one bothers them, only the nurses, which are drawing their conclusions about the two, but it’s not said aloud; they do great work, that’s all that matters. Nearing the evening, Beatrice visits Mary, right before Lilith stirs awake, keeping Mary company. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Right now, the plans about Adriel are on hold, they will delve right into it once Lilith is fully conscious. They need her to talk about what exactly happened between her and Adriel, and to receive her input about any developing mission. It can surely wait a few days, as long as danger doesn’t appear, which shouldn’t. Though Beatrice does more research, finding incidents of possession occurring in small areas, that’s definitely shocking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The continuing mission is postponed. I think it would be best to wait for Lilith to get up, so that can go over the procedures…” Beatrice explains. Makes sense. Progression on the mission can wait as these days pass by. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mary nods, “Sounds good.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As for Lilith, she's alive, aware of all the discomfort and pain that shoot throughout her body. It’s agony. Probably the worst pain she’s ever felt and that’s saying a lot considering what she went through not too long ago. Lilith feels awake but can’t seem to open her eyes, eyelids feeling too heavy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>God</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She moves her hands, clenching and unclenching them, then hears a voice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She can’t see yet. Ugh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But Lilith hears two voices, most likely Beatrice and Mary. Lilith squints her eyes open, met with the brightness of the room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lilith?!” Mary says, grabbing onto a hand. Lilith weakly grabs on with as much strength as possible. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They wait until Lilith acknowledges them, waiting to see her eyes open. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith frowns at the light, blinking a few times before actually being able to see, blinking away the exhaustion. Lilith hears the ringing for a split moment before being able to hear the other talk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi,” Lilith winces at her scratchy voice, clearing her throat. A small smile fills her face. She twists her head to both sides, seeing Beatrice and Mary on either side, concerned expressions on both their faces. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you feeling?” Beatrice asks, just to be sure. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like shit,” Lilith honestly replies, moving her joints, getting more feeling back. Beatrice huffs, but strokes Lilith’s arm softly, taking in her expression. Mary lightly chuckles, shaking her head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s Lilith,” Mary jokes, gaining a scowl from the other, now at ease with the fact that she woke up and back to normal self. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lilith...” Beatrice says hesitantly, unsure about what to say about the situation. “What happened between you and Adriel?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Beatrice, can’t this wait?” Mary says defensively, staring at her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It can. It can. But I’m sure all of us would like to know what happened,” Beatrice responds, taking a slow approach. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Mary could talk back, Lilith shushes her, placing a hand on the other’s arms, “Mary it’s okay. I’m okay, I promise.” And so Lilith explains what went down, saying that the reason she almost died (again) was because Adriel used his powers on her, thus weakening her to the point of utter exhaustion. She also expressed that the monster could heal her in small ways but this time was too much for the demon to even keep up, that is what led to her almost death. They also tell her that she had a blood transfusion, filling her in on the small medical details before the nurses could attend to her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>What Lilith had said about their bond, the detail about feeling sorry over their broken friendship, still rang throughout Mary’s mind. That was the whole reason why it became strained in the first place, fighting over it multiple times, Lilith letting her pride, power, and dominance take over, almost killing Ava in the process. (They talked about it, privately, and Lilith even suggested helping Ava at improving her skills with the Halo; something Lilith wouldn't have done if it was someone else, but they trained with each other, each getting to know their otherworldly abilities in the process - mutual trust and understanding.) </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith decides that this is better than being alone, like she had been after Adriel attacked her. She smiles, at least this time Mary is by her side. Beatrice tells her that another mission is in the works, not yet finalized. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beatrice leaves to call over the nurses and Ava and Camila, allowing the two a moment together. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith brings up the point again, “Am I still heartless?,” smirking to Mary, voice rough. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up. No,” Lilith smiles tight, “but if you die again, I’m dying with you. No more of this okay?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you trying to dictate what I do?” Lilith gasped in mock offense, lifting her good arm to her chest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I am. Babygirl, you should listen to me,” Mary nudges her. “We’re stuck together no matter what.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That makes Lilith look away from her, staring ahead. She trained her whole life to fight, never once parting from her set goal, but maybe now she should. This will benefit her, battling alongside her friends is not the only thing she needs to do, Lilith needs to also learn about being human (and managing the monster inside). She glances back at Mary, shrugging. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’d be better to stay with you, I suppose,” Lilith replies with sarcasm. “The rest aren’t as intense as you.” A small jab at her teammates. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m intense?” Mary laughs. “If I’m intense, then you must be the biggest bitch I know.” Lilith pretends to be offended, it’s all in good fun. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I like it that way though,” Lilith smiles, feeling better already. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then the door opens, the nurses rush in, followed by Ava, Beatrice, and Camila. They stand off near the bed. Mary gets up from the chair, allowing the nurses to check on Lilith, who answers their questions and let’s them examine her. They remove the patch, replacing it with a new, clean gauze pad, and tell Lilith about the multiple bruises, and the blood loss and transfusion, which caused her to pass out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ava speaks low, looking at the sight of Lilith surrounded by the nurses, “I’m glad she’s not dead- again.” She just comments aloud, talking to herself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m happy too,” Camila turns to look at Ava, grinning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After five minutes - didn’t take too long - they go up to Lilith, asking if she’s fine, letting her know that if she needed anything, Lilith could advise them. She thanks them, accepting their offerings and hugs apparently, it shouldn’t shock her but then again, they are just happy that she didn’t die. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To lift the mood, they joke around, momentarily forgetting the whole reason why Lilith was put here in the first place - battle can wait for them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ava couldn’t help but notice the way that Mary was ‘guarding’ Lilith, she saw her protective manners, but that’s altogether a question for a different day; but a girl can’t let it slip by. Whatever it is, clearly it’s mutual. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But I thought- oh never mind.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Later on, they leave letting Lilith rest. Camila brings her nettle tea, Lilith accepting the offer. Ava returns later, before bed, to have a quick, private conversation with Lilith. She asks quietly about the Adriel situation, needing to know if Lilith is okay with the plans, she would be but knowing the confirmation doesn’t hurt. Ava leaves as quickly as she came, bidding Lilith a good night's sleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith passes out after Ava leaves, and Mary decides that it would be okay to sleep in the medical quarters once more. Mary sleeps with more ease than last night, that Lilith is better now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Bonus: </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“And the powers? I barely saw what happened at the Vatican, that was crazy.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah. There’s the teleportation, the- the dimension shifts, the healing? Oh and this.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lilith sticks her hand out, claws emerging from her nail beds. She makes a gesture. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wow, never thought I’d see that.” Mary laughs. Lilith smiles with her and then the claws disappear. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i apologize for this (no i don't)<br/>as always, thanks for reading &lt;33<br/>follow me on twitter @petshopbovs if u want!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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